Experience Italy in New York City

The real Little Italy of New York?

For decades, the Little Italy of the Bronx has remained somewhat hidden, obscured by the popularity of Little Italy in Manhattan; in recent years, however, it has started to claim a spot on the list of New York’s most interesting locations. Even though many of the original residents left the neighborhood in the 1970s and 80s, the Italian character of the streets and shops has stayed authentic, perhaps right thanks to its isolation. The food products, from the cheese to the cold cuts to the olive oil, are often imported from Italy, and the business owners are proud Italian Americans.

Bronx Little Italy is dubbed by many as the ‘real little Italy’ simply because of its authenticity. Many of the businesses here have been around for nearly 100 years or more and are still owned by descendants of their original founders. The bakeries, pastry shops and cheese shops make their fresh homemade products daily as it has always been done. Customers and visitors enjoy the friendly small town atmosphere compared to the Manhattan publicity spotlight.

Walk a few blocks around the intersection of Arthur Avenue and East 187th Street in the Belmont section of New York’s Bronx and you are likely to hear Italian spoken, smell the tantalizing aromas of freshly cooked Italian food, and see people going about their grocery shopping at the many specialty stores: the bakery, the cheese and salumi shop, the seafood market, the fresh pasta store. Just like what you would see in an Italian neighborhood. And that is the pride of the Bronx’s Little Italy; many locals say this is the ‘real’ Little Italy of New York, as compared to Manhattan’s Mulberry Street, which many say has lost its authenticity, especially after the Italians moved out, to become merely a tourist attraction.

Arthur Avenue is always on my list when visiting New York. A big plus is that I can board a domestic flight home with all my favorite goodies that are not available in Portland.